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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Just Drive by L.A. Witt

For Sean Wright, driving a cab in the tiny Navy town of
Anchor Point isn’t an exciting job... until he picks up just-dumped Paul
Richards. A drive turns into a walk on the pier, which turns into the hottest
hookup Sean’s had in ages.

After a long overdue breakup, Paul can’t believe his luck. Of all the drivers,
he’s picked up by the gorgeous, gay, and very willing Sean. Younger guys aren’t
usually his thing, but Paul can’t resist.

One taste and neither man can get enough... right up until they realize that
Paul is Sean’s father’s commanding officer and the last man Sean should be
involved with.

With two careers on the line, their only option is to back off. It’s not easy,
though; the sex and the emotional connection are exactly what both men have
been craving for a long time. But Paul has devoted twenty-four years to his
career and his dream of making admiral. If he’s caught with Sean, that’s all
over. He has to choose — stay the course, or trade it all for the man who drove
off with his heart.

The Anchor Point novels can be enjoyed in
any order — jump in wherever you'd like!

Angie – ☆☆☆☆
I really liked this book and the connection between Paul and Sean. At times, I
think the book could have moved faster; I think sometimes the same thing was
hashed out over and over, but I did love these two. The age gap didn’t bother
me and it wasn’t an issue with the characters as much as it is in some other
books, which was nice too. This was a fast read and I did tear up a little bit.
Good chemistry and good sex, can’t beat it.

Characters: Well written
Sex: Yes
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: First in the series
Genre: M/M
Would I read more by this author: Yes

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
Something magical happens when LA Witt writes about the US Navy. Four years
after publication, Conduct Unbecoming
is still one of my favourite re-reads and in Just Drive, the author has captured some of the same magic.

This time, only Paul is actually in the navy. After a bad break-up, Paul makes
a connection with his sympathetic young cab driver – who just happens to be the
son of one of the senior enlisted men on Paul’s base. The fraternisation
conflict is familiar, but the age gap adds a whole new layer of conflict to
this story.

I am not usually a fan of May/December romances, but somehow the relationship
between Paul and Sean feels like a real partnership. When they are together,
the age difference genuinely disappears. There is a balance to this
relationship and such perfect chemistry that I wasn’t bothered by their
respective ages after a few chapters.

I love the honour and conviction of Witt’s military men and I love how she
manages to capture Paul’s vulnerable and fragile core while never making him
weak. As a military brat, Sean reads as much older than early twenties and the
author explains his experiences and sacrifices quite beautifully. At times,
Sean feels older than both Paul and his father.

Clandestine relationships are always exciting and these two strong men, torn
between love and honour, are absolutely wonderful. I loved the details: the
passionate, almost spiritual, trysts in mundane, grotty motels are perfectly
observed and incredibly moving.

This is a wonderful romance and I loved these two men very much.

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
Paul is a career military man. He has lived through a lot, including DADT and
the lift of DADT. Even with the lift, he hasn't really had a relationship that
has lasted. During his last relationship, he walks out after his relationship
ends, and gets into his taxi. It's there that his world changes. Despite his
career goal of becoming an admiral, something is missing and he can't quite
figure it out. Paul realizes that despite all he's accomplished, when he goes
home at night, it's alone – he's lonely. But he's been on this path for so long
that he can't seem to figure out how to get off and carve a new path.

Then you have Sean. He is almost naive in his thinking. Even though he is a
lifelong Navy brat – moved from place to place to further his father's career,
he seems to forget that careers, like his father’s and Paul’s rarely stop when
something might derail them – they just push through. Sean knows that beginning
anything with a military person could result in moving away – he knows from
experience.

I think that this story really shed light on the relationship between Sean and
his father and the lack of communication that was happening between them. I
must admit that I wanted to yell and scream a little for Sean when his father
stepped in – when Paul simply gave up. Who were these grown me who were unable
to alter their courses? The inflexibility of the Navy men was frustrating.

Also, I found that the chemistry between Paul and Sean was a little flat – they
had a few one night stands, even were able to have some good conversations, but
they were so bad at being in a relationship. While the story was well thought
out, engaging and moved along, it wasn't without it's frustrations, at least
for me. However, having said that, I did enjoy the story and the happily ever
after was well worth the frustration.

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first in a series – and I really enjoyed it. I have to admit that I
am very curious as to where it will go next, as we really didn't meet many
characters other than the leads. I guess Paul's friend has to be the only
obvious choice. I mention this as this book focusses firmly on Paul and Sean
rather than introducing a large cast of future potential couples. I rather
liked the concentration – and certainly getting to understand the impact that
the Navy had had on both the men, and why, was a very interesting theme in the
book.

The two men never expected more than a hook up, but once they accept that they
cannot deny their chemistry, then they have to keep meeting in motels. That
element gets a bit repetitive, but as they heat up the pages, the reader is
distracted from their location very quickly! Along with the impact of the Navy
theme, there are also some wonderful lines about their age difference. All in
all, it is a very enjoyable story, with plenty of action, and a rather moving
ending.

If you're looking for some escapism featuring angst, sexual tension,
May-December, forbidden romance, where the focus is solely on the couple, set
to the backdrop of a military base, then this book is for you.

Sean drives a cab part-time and is a full-time student. There is a lot of
stress and pressure being the son of a man in the Navy. He's forged
friendships, only to lose them when his father was deployed to a new location.
After settling into this new town, Sean's a twenty-something student who feels
in second place to his father's career. Everything he does is with a single
thought, "How will this reflect on Dad?"

Paul drops into Sean's life unexpectedly after a long-time-coming breakup with
his long-distance boyfriend, Jayson. Paul has always made sacrifices to the Navy,
everyone and everything coming in second place to his ambitious career.

Just Drive features a ton of
tension-filled between-the-sheets-action, some heavy emotions, and a ton of
angst. The novel is hyper-focused on the couple only and their struggles with
trying to find a balance. What was a one-off, became sneaking around to seedy
motels. Most of the novel is set in such places. There are only two other
characters shown any scene time – Sean's dad and Paul's friend.

I needed a book to escape into last night to de-stress, and this fit the bill
perfectly. However, my only complaint is it felt a bit drawn out with
repetitious lusty scenes (the motel rooms started to feel a bit like the Groundhog Day film). I won't complain
too much, as L.A. Witt included some smoking hot scenes that got the blood
heated, but without more cast mates or larger plot threads, it became a bit too
much of the same thing for me.

I applaud the author for showing both sides of the struggle for those in the
military, written in an empathetic, realistic fashion.

Recommended to those who love military romance in the MM genre.

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from
the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the
southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn't lose her mind
in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant
hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has
substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small
army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author
Lauren Gallagher, but don't tell Lauren. And definitely don't tell Lori A. Witt
or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut...

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